Leucanthemum plant named ‘Seventh Heaven’

ABSTRACT

The new Shasta daisy plant, Leucanthemum ‘Seventh Heaven’, is a sturdy plant with dark-green serrated foliage and stiff stems. The numerous, large, freely-flowering inflorescences producing two to three rows of overlapping horizontal ray florets beginning light-yellow and developing to creamy-yellow-colored. The center disk florets are golden yellow. The new plant is useful in the landscape as a long-flowering border, in mass, as accent plants and containerized for patio or indoor use, or as a cut flower.

Botanical classification: Leucanthemum x superbum (Bergmans ex J.W.Ingram) D.H.Kent.

Variety denomination: ‘Seventh Heaven’.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES UNDER 37 CFR 1.77(B)(6)

The first non-enabling information of the claimed plant was made by Walters Gardens, Inc. on Feb. 1, 2022, in the form of a website brief description and photograph followed by a short description and photograph in the “Walters Gardens 2022-2023 Catalog” by Walters Gardens, Inc first distributed on Jun. 8, 2022. The first enabling disclosure of a sales of the claimed plant was on Jul. 7, 2022, by Walters Gardens, Inc. Walters Gardens, Inc. obtained the new plant and information about the new plant directly from the inventor. No plants of Leucanthemum ‘Seventh Heaven’ have been sold or offered for sale, in this country or anywhere in the world, nor has any disclosure of the new plant been made, more than one year prior to the filing date of this application, and such sale or disclosure within one year was either derived directly or indirectly from the inventor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The original Leucanthemum x superbum, or Shasta daisies, were bred by Luther Burbank in the late 1800's as a cross between Leucanthemum maximum (Ramond) DC. with Leucanthemum vulgare (Vaill.) Lam., Leucanthemum lacustre (Broth.) Samp. and Nipponanthemum nipponicum. The new plant, Leucanthemum ‘Seventh Heaven’ originated from a planned breeding program of the inventor at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich., USA. The new Leucanthemum was a single plant selected from a group of seedlings from a cross on Jun. 30, 2015, between the proprietary unreleased, unnamed proprietary hybrid known only by the breeder code 13-21-1 (not patented) as the female parent and ‘La Crème’ (not patented) as the male parent. The individual selected plant that eventually became ‘Seventh Heaven’ was first evaluated in the summer of 2017 and given the breeder number 15-127-1 through the subsequent evaluations.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Shasta daisy botanically known as Leucanthemum x superbum and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Seventh Heaven’ or the new plant.

Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by division at the same nursery in Zeeland, Mich. beginning in the summer of 2017 has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all the characteristics of the original plant retained through successive generations of asexual propagation. The new plant has since been asexually propagated by basal shoot tip cuttings and sterile shoot tip tissue culture.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The new plant, Leucanthemum ‘Seventh Heaven’, is most closely compared to: Leucanthemum ‘Leumayel’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 19,242, ‘Cream Puff’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 30,074, ‘Banana Cream’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 23,181, ‘Banana Cream II’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 33,851, ‘Marshmallow’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 33,878, ‘Goldfinch’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 24,499, and ‘Real Goldcup’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 33,766.

‘Leumayel’ is slightly shorter in habit with less branching. In test trials in Zeeland, Mich., ‘Cream Puff’ has a shorter habit and has smaller inflorescences with ray florets that are less yellow. ‘Banana Cream’ has a taller and more upright habit, less branching, larger inflorescences, and thinner ray florets. ‘Banana Cream II’ has a taller, more upright, less mounded habit, and more inflorescences. ‘Marshmallow’ has a slightly taller habit and the inflorescences are more double with more laciniate and less yellowish ray floret ligules. ‘Goldfinch’ has a shorter upright habit, less branching, shorter and thinner ray florets that are initially bright lemon yellow and lighten to ivory white. ‘Real Goldcup’ has a much taller habit and shorter ray florets that are slightly more deeply emarginate.

The female parent has flatter, whiter and more ray florets. ‘La Crème’ has a more upright with less branching habit, and ray florets are smaller.

Leucanthemum ‘Seventh Heaven’ differs from all cultivars known to the inventor in the following combined traits:

-   -   1. Sturdy, dense, mounded plants with dark-green serrated         foliage and stiff stems;     -   2. Large semi-double inflorescences with two or three rows of         overlapping ray florets;     -   3. Ray florets with ligules starting light-yellow and becoming         creamy-yellowish at maturity;     -   4. Center disk florets of golden yellow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The photographs of ‘Seventh Heaven’ demonstrate the overall appearance and landscape qualities of the new plant, including the unique traits planted in a full-sun trial garden in Zeeland, Mich. The colors are as accurate as reasonably possible with color reproductions. Ambient light spectrum, source, direction, and temperature may cause the appearance of minor variations in color.

FIG. 1 shows a two-year-old new plant at peak flowering with inflorescences covering the plant from nearly top to ground.

FIG. 2 shows a close-up of some inflorescences.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following descriptions and color references are based on the 2015 edition of The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except where common dictionary terms are used. The new plant has not been observed in all possible environments and conditions. The phenotype of Leucanthemum ‘Seventh Heaven’ may vary with different growing conditions such as changes in temperature, light intensity, water availability, and nutrition, but without change in the genotype.

The plants used for description purposes were three-year-old and were grown in Zeeland, Mich. in a full-sun, loamy-sand trial plot environment with supplemental water and limited fertilizer as needed and also a partially-shaded greenhouse. Summer temperatures range from night lows of about 10° C. to daytime highs of about 34° C. Measurements and numerical values represent averages or ranges of trial plants.

-   Botanical classification: Leucanthemum x superbum; -   Parentage: Female parent is 13-21-1, male parent is ‘La Crème’; -   Habit: Herbaceous perennial with about 30 to 40 branched stems     arising from rhizome base; each stem having four to eight     inflorescences each; about 49 cm to 56 cm tall and to about 93 cm     across with rounded top; -   Roots: Fibrous, thin, heavily branched; root color nearest RHS 155D     depending on soil type; -   Propagation: Tip cuttings or tissue culture; about two weeks to     produce roots from cutting; about 33 weeks to finish to flower in a     3.8-liter pot depending on the season; -   Stems: About 30 to 40 main stems per plant; strong; mostly upright;     canaliculated; hispidulous; terete, hollow in distal portion; 9.0 mm     diameter at base; to 52 cm tall; about 8 nodes before flowers;     average internode length about 2.1 cm; with typically four to eight     branches; -   Stem color: Between RHS 146B and RHS 146A with ridges nearest RHS     146C; -   Axillary branches: Four to eight; extending above main     inflorescence; between 14 to 25 cm long and 2.5 to 4 mm diameter;     upright to angles of about 30° or less from main stem; -   Axillary branch color: Between RHS 146B and RHS 146A with ridges     nearest RHS 146C; -   Leaves: Lanceolate to linear; apex acute; proximal leaf bases     petiolate and attenuate, with cauline leaf bases sessile, truncate     to clasping; alternate; sparsely puberulent adaxial and abaxial;     margin serrate and micro-ciliolate with average about eleven teeth     per side, and size average about 1.5 mm long and 1.5 mm wide;     proximal leaves to about 14.2 cm long and 4 cm wide, lower cauline     leaves to about 15 cm long, 4.5 cm wide near middle; average about     9.3 cm long and 3.5 cm wide; no fragrance detected; -   Leaf color: Young adaxial between RHS 137A and RHS 137B distally and     nearest RHS 138A proximally, abaxial nearest RHS 137B distally and     RHS 138A proximally; mature adaxial between RHS 137A and RHS 139A,     abaxial nearest RHS 147B; -   Petiole: On basal leaves only, not on cauline leaves;     concavo-convex; micro-puberulent and slightly lustrous adaxial and     abaxial, to 9 cm long and 11 mm across at base; -   Petiole color: Adaxial midrib nearest RHS 145D with surrounding     portion nearest RHS 145B and margin nearest RHS 146B; abaxial midrib     nearest RHS 145B with surrounding portion nearest RHS 146D and     margin nearest RHS 146B; adaxial and abaxial basal 20 mm nearest RHS     145D strongly maculate with nearest RHS 187C; -   Veins: Anastomosing; glabrescent adaxial and pubescent to puberulent     abaxial; adaxial slightly raised, abaxial midrib costate and     secondary veins smooth; -   Vein color: Adaxial midrib nearest RHS 145D proximally and distally     midrib and secondary veins nearest RHS 137B; abaxial midrib nearest     RHS 146D proximally and distally nearest RHS secondary veins nearest     RHS 147B; -   Inflorescence: Capitate; about 150 per plant at one time; primary     inflorescence 10 cm across and 3.5 cm tall; comprising two or three     outer rows of imbricate ray florets and about 175 to 300 central     disk florets; individual inflorescence lasting about three weeks on     or cut from plant; upright; -   Fragrance: Faint dirty fragrance detected; -   Flowering period: Early July to early August in Michigan; -   Peduncle: Strong, stiff; hispidulous to puberulent; cylindrical;     striate with ridges; 6 cm to 50 cm long and about 9 mm diameter at     base; erect attitude; -   Peduncle color: Between RHS 146B and RHS 146A with ridges nearest     RHS 146C; -   Bud: With ray florets still vertical — oblong globose; 4 cm across     ray florets and 3 cm from base of phyllaries to apex of capitulum; -   Bud color: Adaxial and abaxial ray floret ligule nearest RHS 8D     distally, central portion between RHS 10B and RHS 10C adaxial and     between RHS 13C and RHS 13D abaxial, base nearest RHS 146D;     phyllaries nearest RHS 138A in center and margin nearest RHS 196D; -   Floret type: Ray florets on the exterior two rows, disk florets in     inflorescence center; -   Ray florets: To about 44 per inflorescence; pistillate; arranged     around outer perimeter of capitulum in two overlapping rows; ligules     glabrous adaxial and abaxial, base attenuate rolled into claw, apex     emarginate with typically two notches indented to about 0.5 mm,     margin entire; to about 52 mm long and 9 mm wide; flat to reflex in     distal 10 mm; -   Disk florets: Perfect; incomplete; tubular; to about 175 to 300 per     inflorescence at center of capitulum; combined inflorescences disk     to about 26 mm across and about 12 mm tall; individual floret about     10 mm tall and 2 mm wide; five tepals, about 6 mm long; with acute     apex, fused in basal 5 mm; -   Ray floret color: When ray floret ligules are first horizontal     adaxial nearest RHS 9D in middle portion, apex nearest RHS 13C, base     between RHS 146D and RHS 144A, abaxial middle portion nearest RHS     4D, apex nearest RHS 6C, and base nearest RHS 146C; mature adaxial     and abaxial ligules nearer RHS 155B than RHS 4D with the basal 9 mm     portion nearest RHS 143C; before dropping adaxial middle portion     between RHS 13D and RHS 155A, apex nearest RHS 155A, base nearest     RHS 146C, abaxial middle portion nearest RHS NN155A, apex nearest     RHS 155B and base nearest RHS 146C; -   Disk floret color: Young adaxial and abaxial corolla tube nearest     RHS 13B in distal 1 mm, next distal 2 mm translucent with veins     nearest RHS 146D, corolla tube base nearest RHS 148B; mature adaxial     and abaxial corolla tube nearest RHS 13B distally, center     transparent and base nearest RHS 148B; -   Androecium: Five stamens connate around style;     -   -   Anther.—Five; connate into tube; about 3 mm long and less             than one mm wide, not present in ray florets, functional in             disk florets; color nearest RHS 17B.         -   Filaments.—Fused together at apex, 3 mm long and less than             0.1 mm diameter; color translucent to between RHS 146D and             RHS 145D.         -   Pollen.—Only found in disk florets; color nearest RHS 21A. -   Gynoecium: In ray florets and disk florets; to about 10 mm long;     exserted;     -   -   Style.—About 7 mm long and less than 0.3 mm diameter, bifid             and reflex in apical 1 mm; color between RHS 146D and RHS             145D.         -   Stigma.—Bifid; to about 1.5 mm long and less than 0.5 mm             diameter; color nearest RHS 145D. -   Involucre: Made of about two layers of phyllaries; to 3 cm across     and 0.9 cm tall; -   Phyllaries: Lanceolate; apex acute; base truncate; imbricate;     adaxial and abaxial glabrous, matte; margin micro-erose and     translucent; to about 9 mm long and 3 mm wide; -   Phyllaries color: Adaxial and abaxial outer 1.0 mm of margin     transparent; adaxial nearest RHS 146D with a midrib nearest RHS     138A, abaxial nearest RHS 138A, adaxial and abaxial apex nearest RHS     200A; -   Fruit: Achene, pointed at base and rounded at distal end with     longitudinal color striations nearest RHS N200A and lighter than RHS     155D; about 3 to 4 mm long and 1.5 mm across;

Leucanthemum ‘Seventh Heaven’ grows best with adequate moisture but can tolerate some dryness once established. Vernalization is not required for flowering but is beneficial. The new plant is tolerant of high temperatures of at least 36° and cold hardy to at least USDA zone 5 as well as strong wind and rain. Other disease or pest resistance beyond that common to Shasta daisy has not been observed. 

I claim:
 1. The new and distinct Shasta daisy Leucanthemum plant named ‘Seventh Heaven’ as herein described and illustrated. 